Means for incising wooden poles and the like



Feb. 19, 1957 H. A. FENCE 2,781,802

MEANS FOR mcxsmc WOODEN POLES AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

HARRY A. PENCE ATTORNEY Feb. 19, 1957 H. A. PENCE 2,781,802

MEANS FOR INCISING WOODEN POLES AND THE LIKE Filed July 2'7, 1953 3Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HARRY A. PENCE ATTORNEY Feb. 19, 1957 H. A.FENCE MEANS FOR INCISING WOODEN PQLES AND THE LIKE Filed July 27. 19 533 Shets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. HARRY A. PENOE ATTORNEY MEANS FOR INCISINGWOODEN POLES AND THE LIKE Harry A. Pence, Oakland, Calif., assignor toJ. H. Baxter & Co., San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of CaliforniaApplication July 27, 1953, Serial No. 370,401

3 Claims. (Cl. 144-2) This invention relates in general to the incisingof wood, or the making of slit-like holes in the surface of wood, andrelates particularly to the incising of Wooden poles.

As is well known, when timbers and poles are required to be treated witha wood preservative, the incising of the surface enables a more uniformpenetration of the preservative to be obtained. However, I have alsofound that the incising of poles, provided this is done before theseasoning of the wood takes place, has another very important advantagein that the incising of the surface results in a more uniform drying ofthe wood, permits faster seasoning, and reduces the number and size ofthe checks in the wood caused by the seasoning.

During the ordinary seasoning process the escaping moisture in the woodsets up internal stresses, and, par

ticularly when the drying is not uniform, these internal stresses mayresult in deep seasoning checks which, in the ease of wooden poles, mayrender the same unfit for the particular use for which they areintended. The incising of the surface of the pole, by facilitating theescape of moisture from the wood, when the incising is performeduniformly over the surface, promotes more uniform drying and enables theseasoning process to take place more quickly with fewer and smallerseasoning checks. I have observed this to be true especially with polesof relatively small diameter and thus with long poles of the type whichare commonly used for supporting electric power lines,

etc.

An object of the present invention is to provide improved method andmeans for satisfactorily incising long poles throughout their entirelength.

Since I have also discovered that the longer the delay which occursbetween the initial debarking or peeling of the poles and the incisingof the peeled surface, the greater will be the amount of checkingproduced by the drying or seasoning, another and particular object ofthe invention is to provide practical method and means for incising apole immediately with the debarking or peeling.

A related object of the invention is to provide improved means wherebythe debarking or peeling and the incising can be performedsimultaneously in the same operation for the entire length of the pole.

Inasmuch as ordinary wooden poles of any considerable length :are seldomabsolutely straight, the incising of such poles uniformly throughouttheir entire length would present difficulty if the pole were requiredto be rotated on a fixed axis during the incising operation. Anotherobiect of this invention accordingly is to provide an incising device inwhich poles can be handled with the same facility regardless of whetherthey are absolutely straight or not.

A further object of the invention is to provide an incising devicehaving an improved incising wheel particularly adapted for the incisingof long poles.

The manner in which I attain these objects and other incidentaladvantages, and the construction and operation of the special meanswhich I employ in the carrying nited States Patent out of my inventionand method, will be briefly described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a more or less diagrammatic side elevation showing a pole inthe process of being peeled and incised in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of the pole and apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2but drawn to a larger scale;

. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary end elevation, drawn to a still larger scale,of the special incisor wheel;

Fig. 5 is a corresponding fragmentary side elevation of the incisorwheel;

Fig. 6 is a section through the surface of the incisor wheel taken online 6--6 of Fig. 4, drawn to a larger scale, and showing the incisortooth bar;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevation and cross section through the toothbar on line 77 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary elevation of the incised pole.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the pole P, which is illustrated asbeing treated in accordance with this invention, is supported partly ona pair of rotating wheels 10 and 11 (Fig. 3) during the entire treatingoperation. Wheel 10 is the incisor wheel and wheel 11 is designated as afriction drive wheel. Both wheels are of substantially the samediameter. The axes of the wheels are parallel, both wheels preferablyextend in the same vertical plane, and both are rotated in the samedirection at the same speed. Since the pole P is supported in part onthese wheels and rests on these wheels during the treatment, therotation of the wheels 10 and 11 produces rotation of the pole, thedirection of rotation of the wheels and pole beinlg indicated by thearrows in Fig. 3.

The wheels and 10 and 11 are suitably journaled in a carriage 12, which,as indicated in Fig. 3, is in turn pivotally mounted at 13 on a suitablestationary base 14. An arm 15, rigidly extending from the carriage 12,is connected with a hydraulic piston and cylinder, indicated in generalby the reference character 16 in Fig. 3. As apparent, this mountingsupport for the wheels 10 and 11 enables the axes of the wheels to bemoved into a desired position of slight angularity with respect to theaxis of the pole P. As a result of such angularity of the wheels 10 and11 with respect to the pole, the rotation of the wheels causeslongitudinal travel of the pole P as well as rotation of the pole, thelongitudinal travel being from left to right as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2.Obviously varying the degree of angularity of the axes of the wheels 10and 1.1 with respect to the axis of the pole, will, within certainlimits, vary the rate of longitudinal travel of the pole and theincising pattern produced on the pole by the incising wheel.

The wheels 10 and 11 are driven in unison by suitable means, for exampleby a worm and gears indicated in broken lines in Fig. 3, the worm shaftbeing connected by suitable universal joints and linkage to a powerdriven shaft (not shown). The periphery of the friction drive wheel 11is covered with a rubber tire or other surfacing enabling the wheel tomaintain a frictional grip on the pole P as long as the pole rests onthe wheel 11. The periphery of the incisor wheel 10 carries incisingteeth 17 to be described more fully later.

A pair of cutter-head supporting arms 20 and 21 (Fig. 2), pivotallymounted on a machine frame (not shown) which in turn is located in acontrol shed 22, and which arms can be raised or lowered by suitablemeans (not shown), carry rotary cutters at their outer ends. These arms20 and 21 are of proper length to enable the rotary cutters to ride onthe pole when the pole is supported on the wheels 10 and 11, the armsand their cutters being capable of bearing down on the pole due to theirweight and to the pull of springs, one of which is indicated at 27 inFig. 3.

The pole P when it i to be treated is moved in on a pair of trams ortrucks, the front one of which is shown at 13 in Figs. 1 and 2. The arms20 and 21 are raised and the pole is then slid along over the fronttruck 18 until its forward end rests on the wheels and 11. The arms 20and 21 are then lowered until their cutters rest on the pole and thetreating operation starts at this Poin. The pole P continues to besupported partly on the wheels 10 and 11 and partly on the truck 18until it moves sufiiciently forward, or to the right as viewed in Figs.1 and 2, so that the longitudinal center of the pole passes the wheels10 and 11 and the rear end of the pole leaves the truck 18. Thereuponthe front end of the pole is caused to rest on the first truck 19 of asecond pair of trucks, and the second pair of trucks will remove thepole when the treatment has been completed. With this arrangement thepole, during the entire treating operation, will always be restingpartly on one truck and partly on the Wheels 10 and 11. In other words,during the entire treatment the pole will be supported partly by thewheels 10 and 11 and thus will always be in contact with these wheels.Consequently even if the pole should not be absolutely straight, whichis often the case with long poles, the pole P will never be out ofcontact with the wheels 10 and 11 during the treating operation. Thearms 20 and 21, with their cutters, aid in holding the pole down firmlyin constant contact with the wheels 10 and 11. If any whipping aboutoccurs at any portion of the pole during its rotation, as a result ofthe fact that the pole is not entirely straight, such whipping willconsequently be limited to that portion of the pole which is not restingeither on the wheels 10 and 11 or on a supporting truck, This is animportant feature in the carrying out of my invention.

The rotary cutters carried by the arms 20 and 21 are driven separatelyand rapidly by belt connections with driving mechanism (not shown)located in the control shed 22. The first arm 20 is so positioned thatthe rotary cutter which it carries will contact the pole in advance ofthe contact of the pole with the incisor wheel 10. Thus, as viewed inFigs. 1 and 2, with the longitudinal travel of the pole from left toright, the rotary cutter on the arm 20 is positioned a short distance tothe left of he incisor wheel 10. The second arm 21 is so positioned thatits rotary cutter will engage the pole beyond the incisor wheel 10, andthus this arm and cutter head are both positioned a short distance tothe right of the incisor wheel 10 in Figs. 1 and 2. The rotary cutter onarm 20 is adapted to perform a debarking or high speed peeling operationin the customary manner. The second rotary cutter, mounted on arm 21, isdesigned to perform a cleaning or smoothing operation on the treatedsurface of the pole.

Due to the arrangement of the rotary cutters and incisor wheel thesurface of the pole is first subjected to the debarking or peelingaction of the first rotary cutter, then the peeled surface isimmediately contacted by the incisor wheel 10, the weight of the polebearing on the incisor wheel causing the incising teeth of the wheel toenter the peeled surface and perform the incising operation; and finallyany remaining skin or bark on the pole and any surface roughness,including that which may result from the incising, is removed by theaction of the second rotary cutter on the arm 21. This triple actiontakes place almost simultaneously. Since the pole is movedlongitudinally as well as being rotated, the debarking or peeling, theincising, and the cleaning or smoothing of the surface take place in aspiral path. The pitch of this spiral path depend upon the speed of thelongitudinal travel of the pole and the speed of longitudinal travel inturn is governed by the angularity of the axes of the wheels 10 and 11with respect to the longitudinal line of travel of the pole or axis ofthe pole.

As is well known, the seasoning or loss of moisture from a pole isgreatly accelerated immediately upon the debarking or peeling of thepole. I have found that the incising of the peeled surface furtheraccelerates the rate at which the seasoning takes place. My onlyexplanation for this fact is that the holes or incisions in the pole,made by the incising teeth, provide moisture outlets and expose innersurfaces from which the inner moisture passes more readily and rapidly.Since the preventing of the setting up of excessive internal stresses inthe wood by the escaping moisture during the seasoning reduces thenumber and size of the checks produced by the seasoning, and since theloss of moisture, under ordinary conditions, begins rapidly upon thepeeling of the bark from the pole, and the escape of the moisture isfacilitated by the incising of the pole, I have discovered that it ismost important in the attainment of the optimum seasoning to incise thepole surface immediately upon the peeling of the same. The subsequentcleaning and smoothing of the incised surface also aids in the escape ofsurface moisture. Thus in the apparatus illustrated and described, thepeeling, incising, and final cleaning of the surface take place almostsimultaneously. This I consider to be a novel and important feature ofmy invention.

While various shapes and arrangements of the incising teeth on theperiphery of the incisor Wheel 10 may be employed in my device and inthe carrying out of my invention, the preferred form of the incisingsurface of the wheel which I employ is illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and7. The incising teeth 17 are arranged in spaced rows on the periphery ofthe incisor wheel 10, these rows being parallel to the wheel axle. Theteeth of each row are spaced laterally from each other, as shown inFigs. 5 and 6, and are integrally formed on a tooth bar 23 (Fig. 6)which is anchored in a groove in the wheel periphery so that the outersurface of the bar 23 will be substantially flush with the wheelperiphery. The teeth are preferably so arranged in the successive rowsthat they will also be staggered respectively as shown in Fig. 5.

The periphery of the incisor wheel 10 is formed with a ridge 24 midwaybetween each pair of rows of teeth, the ridges extending parallel to therows. The ridges 24 extend out a shorter radial distance from the restof the wheel periphery than the incising teeth, and the top or outerface of each ridge is substantially flat. Thus the ridges 24 contact thesurface of the pole during the incising operation without deforming ormarring the pole surface and, as evident, these ridges limit the extentto which the incising teeth 17 can penetrate into the pole.

The incising teeth 17, in the preferred form illustrated, have forwardfaces 26 (Figs. 6 and 7), facing the direction of the rotation of thewheel, rear faces 25, and parallel vertical sides. The forward and rearfaces meet at the tip in a slightly rounded cutting edge. The forwardfaces have a convex surface and the rear faces have a concave surface,as shown. Although other shapes of teeth may be employed, as previouslymentioned, nevertheless I have found that incising teeth of this specialformation are particularly suitable for making incising slits in therotating pole without excessive distortion of the outer surfacesurrounding the slits. I have also found that the teeth when shaped inthis particular manner function very satisfactorily even if the incisorwheel, and with it the pole, are rotated at a fairly rapid rate ofspeed, the convex forward faces of the teeth facilitating the entry ofthe teeth into the rotating pole and the concave rear faces of the teethfacilitating the withdrawal of the teeth without excessive pulling orgrabbing action.

Various modifications might be made in the apparatus which Ihave'illustrated and described for the carrying out of my invention,without departing from the prinfil ciple of the invention, and it is notmy intention to limit the same except as set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a device for incising a wooden pole, a rotating incisor wheelengaging said pole, parallel spaced rows of incising teeth on theperiphery of said incisor wheel, the teeth in each row spaced apart,said rows extending parallel to the axis of said Wheel, ridges on theperiphery of said wheel between said rows of incising teeth, the topsurfaces of said ridges being substantially flat and located a shorterradial distance from said wheel periphery than the tips of said teeth,the tips of the teeth in each row extending in transverse alignmentparallel to the wheel axis, the forward faces of said teeth with respectto the direction of rotation of said wheel being slightly convex, theopposite rear faces of said teeth being slightly concave.

2. In a device for incising a substantially round wooden pole, anincisor wheel and a friction drive wheel spaced from each other, saidwheels supporting said pole at all times during the incising operation,the axes of said wheels being parallel and positioned at desired slightangularity with respect to the axis of said pole, means for rotatingsaid wheels in unison, whereby said pole will be rotated and movedlongitudinally by said wheels, means located above said wheels bearingdown on said pole, whereby said means and the weight of said pole willcause the surface of said pole to be penetrated by the teeth of saidincisor wheel as said pole is moved through said device, and means forsupporting the ends of said pole successively during the incisingoperation.

3. In a device of the character described for incising a substantiallyround wooden pole, an incisor wheel and a friction drive wheel spacedfrom each other, said wheels supporting said pole at all times duringthe incising operation, said wheels located in the same plane with theiraxes, positioned at desired slight angularity with respect to the axisof said pole, means for rotating said wheels at the same speed and inthe same direction, whereby said pole will be rotated and movedlongitudinally by said wheels, means located above said wheels bearingdown on said pole, whereby said means and the weight of said pole willcause the surface of said pole to be penetrated by the teeth of saidincisor wheel as said pole is moved through said device, and anadjustable mounting for said wheels enabling the angularity of the axesof said wheels with respect to the axis of said pole to be adjusted tocontrol the longitudinal speed of travel of said pole and the incisingpattern on said pole.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,363,593 Hewitt Dec. 28, 1920 1,621,963 Valentine Mar. 22, 19271,646,955 Edwards Oct. 25, 1927 2,390,459 Power Dec. 4, 1945 2,412,433Taylor Dec. 10, 1946 2,540,994 Rogers Feb. 6, 1951 2,563,758 TinlingAug. 7, 1951 2,581,617 Alfsen Ian. 8, 1952 2,684,089 Graham et a1. July20, 1954

